This is very cool and will have an immediate positive impact for families. Idea very much originated in Finland but great to see it spreading.
Baby boxes contain everything from clothing, nappies/diapers, books, thermometers, baby wraps, muslins, a changing mat, nursing pads, information for new parents, and condoms.
The box itself acts also as a bed for the baby to sleep in.
This is so important to me. I have always been in favour of the idea, but getting one of these baby boxes really reinforced to me how good a thing it is.
I'd been living in the US and Germany for over a decade before moving to Scotland in 2018 when I was 30 weeks pregnant, and not settling into a home and getting signed up with a GP until like 35 weeks. I thought there was no way I'd get one, but they made it happen.
I used everything in it SO MUCH. The play mat. The toys. The portable changing kit. The carrying wrap. The clothes. The EAR THERMOMETER (invaluable in 2020, as it turned out). And immediately I had several observations about it:
1. It was a big equalizing and bonding factor between new parents. Almost everyone I saw was using the baby box gear, so there was no visible differentiation between parents with lots of money and parents with very little. We all had the same stuff. And you'd share a smile with fellow parents when you both had your baby in the same outfit or tucked into the same carrier.
2. Seeing charity shops full of those items and realizing no one needed them because everyone with a baby already had their own. This was a real reminder of the success of the program, making sure everyone had what they needed, but I wish I'd had the wherewithal to organize something—since those items don't need to be passed on or handed down within Scotland (since everyone has them), I remember thinking it would be good to collect them up and send them on elsewhere afterwards. Baby gear has so much life still in it after it's used, especially things like play mats and carriers.
3. It made me feel INCREDIBLY welcomed and included. I'd been in Scotland for a handful of months when my baby was born, but I was treated like someone who'd lived here for years. I remember feeling deeply emotional about it. They included a poem in the box which to this day I can't read without BAWLING. It sounds stupid but the poem was one of the most impactful inclusions for me as a newcomer. https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/media/lnbjz4ok/welcome-wee-one-poem.jpg
Everyone deserves this. It's such a simple way to give all babies a good start. I hope parents in NYC are able to get it.
